Technical Field
The present invention relates to a vehicle front portion structure that is provided with a pedestrian collision detection sensor.
Related Art
Conventionally, in a pedestrian protection device such as a pop-up hood that operates in the event of a collision between a vehicle and a pedestrian, a pedestrian collision detection system (sensor) is employed that is capable of determining whether or not a collision object that has collided with the vehicle is a pedestrian. An example of this is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2015-074422. This pedestrian collision detection system is formed by a flexible tubular object and is provided with a pressure tube that, as viewed from the vehicle front-rear direction, is bent in a U-shape and is positioned such that the U protrudes outwards in the vehicle transverse direction. A portion on a vehicle upper side of this pressure tube is formed by an upper tube, and this upper tube is disposed at a front surface of a bumper reinforcement and is disposed along an upper absorber that extends in the vehicle transverse direction.
In contrast, a lower tube that forms a portion on a vehicle lower side of the pressure tube is disposed on a vehicle lower side of the bumper reinforcement and on a front surface of a front member, and is disposed along a lower absorber that extends in the vehicle transverse direction. A pressure sensor that detects pressure changes inside the pressure tube and outputs signals based on these pressure changes is provided at end portions of the lower tube. As a result, in the prior art described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2015-074422, during a collision between a vehicle and a collision object, it is possible to determine whether or not this collision object is a pedestrian based on changes in the signals output from the pressure sensor.
However, in the aforementioned prior art, if only the lower tube is pressed during a collision, namely, if the collision object is a small animal or the like, then an unnecessary determination is made. In other words, in the prior art described in the aforementioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2015-074422, when the collision object is a small animal or the like, there is room for improvement in the ability to suppress the effect imparted to the pressure tube by the collision object.
In consideration of the above-described circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle out portion structure that is provided with a pedestrian collision detection sensor that is capable of suppressing the effect imparted to a pressure tube by a collision object when the collision object is a small animal or the like.